THE WORD AND THE SAINT
Jesus is compared to the Jewish high priests who are the only ones allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, and that too, only once a year. Jesus has entered and has come from a place holier than the Holy of holies, infact he is the Sanctuary, the Altar, the Sacrifice and the High Priest. There is none who can be paralleled to him.
However, even Jesus himself could not reveal this without struggles - he was mocked at, he was criticised, he was called even a lunatic by his own people. Nothing stopped him, absolutely nothing hinder him in carrying out the mission given to him: to reveal the holiness and love of God. His dedication and consecration to the mission entrusted to him, stands out in every way and all the time.
The same dedication and consecration we see in the young girl whom we celebrate today. St. Agnes, lived not more than 13 years, but she consecrated herself to the Lord and considered her life, her entire self, as totally belonging to the Lord. She stood against anything that could deviate her from the Lord and gave up even her life for the simple but strong belief that "the Lord is my Spouse." An extraordinary faithfulness and consecration to the Lord.
Struggles, criticism, insults, misunderstandings, persecution, desertion, nothing should move us from belonging to the Lord. If they do, we would lose not merely our opportunity to enter the holy of holies, but the grace of living there forever!